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★★★★ I Survived Seattle by J.K. Hogan ★★★★

Today’s review comes from guest reviewer Jonesy. Jonesy has given I Survived Seattle, the first book in the Coming Aboutseries, 4 fabulous stars.

The Blurb…

As if being a deeply closeted gay man living in the South isn’t enough, Justice Crawford also suffers from a crippling anxiety disorder. Flying cross country to be the best man in his best friend’s wedding probably isn’t the best idea, right? Forced back into the closet after being rejected by his family, Justice has given up on the idea of finding acceptance and love. He has allowed his disorder and his troubled past to keep him from taking a chance, but love might just find him where he least expects it… in Seattle.

Sailor and charter boat captain Nic Valentine is still reeling from the unexpected death of his father, when the man of his dreams—literally—falls into his lap. He thinks he’ll never see the man again, but fate has other plans. Nic tries to resist the charms of adorably quirky, nervous Justice, because he has no desire to get tangled up with another closet case. But when life keeps throwing them together, will Nic decide that Justice might be a keeper after all?

So what did Jonesy think?

This is an insta-love story done quite well. Sparks flew from the very beginning and it was nice to see Nic accept Justice’s neuroses. Justice was a hot mess (although I couldn’t get my head around his name). He suffers from anxiety and panic attacks with a helping of OCD. Although he has his problems he doesn’t come across as weak and needy and I could totally relate to him and his disorders – I think we all have some form of anxiety and Justice was adorably neurotic. Nic was a little more ‘regular guy’. He had some hangups about being involved with someone still in the closet but despite this he still couldn’t get Justice out of his system and it was fun to watch them interact together.

I felt the love here between these two guys, even if it was a little quick, and the sex was pretty hot. The drama between Justice and his mom felt a little rushed and when Nic goes missing the feelings fell a little flat. There was a lovely HEA at the end but the lead up to it felt a little forced. These are my only grumbles.

I enjoyed the side characters – even Rich. He is a serious douchebag but I have a thing for ‘vanilla villains’. I think all stories should have one. This is book #1 of the ‘Coming About’ series and it would be interesting to see who stars in #2. It would be nice to see if Rich can be redeemed.

I liked this a lot – but I didn’t love it. I wanted to love it and I did in the beginning but the ending fell flat and it took away that spark for me. I’m looking forward to more from this author.